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Best music phones

Tired of carrying around an MP3 player and a phone? Then you're probably thinking about buying a music phone, but which one is right for you? Before you decide, here are a few points you may want to keep in mind.

For starters, make sure your chosen handset will play the music on your computer. This might sound strange, but depending on the format you've stored your music in, it might not play on certain music phones.

You can find out what format a track is in by right-clicking on it and then selecting properties. Typically it will be an MP3, AAC or WMA file. You can then check if it's supported on the phone you want to buy by looking at the specs section in our reviews.

The amount of memory available on a music phone is also important. Some come with a decent amount of on-board memory, some come with expandable memory slots and some come with both.

If a phone has an expandable memory slot, make sure to ask the retailer if it comes with a memory card and, if it does, ask how big it is. If it doesn't come with one, you'll need to buy one, and if it does, but it's not high capacity, you might need a larger one.

The other thing you will want to take into account is how good the music sounds, and whether or not you can use your own headphones. You should ask to try the phone out in a shop before you commit to buying.

If you do want to use your own headphones, check that there's a built-in 3.5mm jack or an in-line adaptor. Some phones come with a proprietary adaptor so that you have to use the bundled earphones, which may not be of very high quality.

Some music phones also come with a built-in FM radio, but not all of them -- if you like listening to the radio on the move, then double check it's there before buying.

Finally, don't forget that listening to music on your phone will drain the battery faster than usual, so the longer the battery lasts to start with, the better.

Editors:

4.0 stars out of 5

Users:

3.55 stars out of 5

Apple iPhone

Despite some important missing features, a slow data network and call quality that doesn't always deliver, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated mobile phone and MP3 player Read more

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Reviewed on 10 January 2007

Editors:

3.5 stars out of 5

Users:

4.5 stars out of 5

O2 Cocoon

We're impressed and pleased that O2 has made the Cocoon. It's different and innovative, with a very cool alarm clock function. Not everyone will like its retro design and the inside section looks a little dated, but it's easy-to-use and comes packed with features Read more

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Reviewed on 3 August 2007

Editors:

3.0 stars out of 5

Users:

0 out of 5

Not yet rated

Nokia 5700 XpressMusic

This phone has good sound quality, impressive smartphone features and a great screen, but the whole experience is marred by sluggish music controls and a terrible camera. It certainly won't tempt fans of Sony Ericsson's excellent Walkman music phones to switch over to Nokia Read more

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Reviewed on 11 July 2007

Editors:

3.5 stars out of 5

Users:

3.75 stars out of 5

Sony Ericsson W880i

The W880i looks fantastic and is so slim you'll barely notice it in your pocket. It comes with a 1GB card that lets you store about 240 of your favourite songs and a music player that sounds great. Unfortunately, it features a tiny and very fiddly navigation key and very small keys on the keypad, which make using it very frustrating Read more

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Reviewed on 20 February 2007

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